It is very advantageous, in order to perform deep and complete cleaning of domestic surfaces (such as floors, windows, mattresses, walls, etc.), to employ a cleaner with multiple functions. In particular, a cleaner capable of drawing dust and/or liquids with high efficiency, while providing steam for removing embedded dirt and grime, is particularly profitable. The use of high temperature steam results in fact in deeper and more hygienic cleaning.
Steam and vacuum cleaners are suitable for performing deep cleaning and sanitization of domestic surfaces. Generally, steam and vacuum cleaning devices comprise at least one hose for conveying dirt (from domestic surfaces to a dirt collector) and steam (from a steam generator to domestic surfaces). Typically, at one end, the at least one hose is plugged to the main body of the steam and vacuum cleaner through one or more hose connector(s); on the other end, the at least one hose terminates with one or more nozzle(s), optionally by interposition of further hoses or conduits.
When using steam and vacuum cleaners, besides a high efficiency of suction and steam generation, good maneuverability and easiness of use are highly desirable, in particular when dealing with vertical and/or irregular surfaces.
At the present, in the aim of providing cleaning devices with the above mentioned requisites, the most advantageous devices are canister steam and vacuum cleaners, wherein the motor, the dust collector and preferably also the steam generator are located within a compact main body.
Canister vacuum cleaners are typically provided with one or more flexible hose(s) to which different nozzles can be connected for different uses.
It is very convenient that also the one or more hoses, for the countercurrent conveyance of suctioned dirt and steam, are easy to maneuver, not bulky and light to lift.
Conventional devices often comprise distinct hoses or conduits for dirt and steam conveyance. Typically, said conduits are stably and strictly associated one to another, although devices with separate conduits, each having separate inlet and/or outlet, are at disposal as well. In some cases, the two conduits or hoses are combined to form a single hose. For example, the steam conduit can be arranged in an inner portion of the suction conduit, when the suction conduit has a transverse section of larger diameter than the steam conduit. The hose systems of the prior art, whether comprising steam and suction hoses separated or mutually joined into a single structure, are however very unhandy.
CN200977120Y discloses a hose system comprising the suction conduit and the steam conduit joined together to form a single hose. In particular, the steam conduit is located in a cavity established on the sleeve of the suction conduit; the sleeve of the suction conduit and the sleeve of the steam conduit are then stably wrapped together in an outer sleeve, forming a single hose.
EP2604906 discloses a hose system comprising a suction conduit and a steam conduit, wherein the steam conduit is arranged in a channel extending longitudinally to the suction conduit and stably bond to the latter with lateral edges.
US2004111822 discloses a steam and vacuum cleaner. In one embodiment the steam hose is external to the suction hose and is joined to the suction hose by means of several bands. In a second embodiment, a major portion of the steam hose is located inside the suction hose; it exits the suction hose in the last portion and enters the nuzzle by means of an L-connection.
JPH07100087 discloses a steam and vacuum cleaner, wherein the suction and steam hoses are either physically separated, linked to the body of the cleaner with two different connectors, or both stably inserted inside a tube of bigger diameter.
JPH08150104 discloses a device wherein the steam generator is located on one side the terminal portion of the suction hose. A short steam conduit, separated from the suction hose, conveys steam. The terminal end of said steam conduit enters the suction nozzle and steam is supplied by means of holes at the base of said nozzle.
US2001034922 discloses a steam and vacuum cleaner wherein the steam and vacuum hoses are completely separated and each one is linked to a separate nozzle. Two separate hoses are disclosed in KR100773728 and KR100737778, as well.
The steam and vacuum cleaners currently available on the market preferably comprise joined steam and vacuum conduits. A single hose system, wherein the suction and steam hoses are permanently associated, being for example produced by co-extrusion into a single structure (as in the more recent developments of steam and vacuum cleaning devices), can be more tidy and easy to use, but it is usually rigid and heavy to be carried about. Furthermore, the production of a single hose system, e.g. by co-extrusion, is generally more expensive.
On the other side, even the systems comprising physically separated hoses, which are joined for example by means of bands, force the user to carry about both the tubes even when alternative and exclusive use of vacuum or steam functionality is required.
According to consumers, one of the main problems encountered with steam and vacuum cleaning devices is their poor maneuverability and heaviness, compared to conventional “pure” vacuum cleaners, in particular of the hose system which is handled by the user. This concern leads to poor marketability of the currently available devices, providing both steam and vacuum cleaning functionality, compared to the marketability of pure vacuum cleaners.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a steam and vacuum cleaner which is handier, more maneuverable than conventional devices, and which is economically valuable.
The solution offered by the present invention is the provision of a steam and vacuum cleaner, preferably a canister steam and vacuum cleaner, comprising a hose system wherein the steam hose is external to the suction hose and the steam hose can be easily detached from the main body of the steam and vacuum cleaner when the steam cleaning function is not employed.